Being underwater is the second best place to be, after Disneyland, and adding some little ones makes it more fun. Yesterday, my mom texted me from the pool saying there were three little girls (ages 4, 3, and 1) and invited me to join her. After quickly replying , I was ready and in the elevator. When I got to the 1st floor, I looked through the window and saw my mom in the pool, holding the one-year old. As I smiled, I walked through the door to the humid outdoors. I was seen and greeted with smiles from my mom and her new friend, the mother of the kids. I took off my cover-up and was in the pool within seconds. These; however, were not American kids, they were Jordanian. Meaning, not much English was spoken. Their mother was nice and friendly and happily allowed me to play with her kids in the pool. It was their first time in the pool so they all had floaties and were a little hesitant to swim. My mom was helping the eldest and I had the three-year old. My mom and I would hold the girls and say, “kick, kick, kick,” knowing they probably did not understand us. So, with one hand supporting their bodies and one hand guiding their feet, we practiced the motion of “kicking.” Many minuted passed by and the four-year old was able to swim/float on her own. My mom had told them my name and they were calling me frequently. Maybe to get my attention or maybe to see if I would respond. Either way, it worked.
We played with them for a while, then got out to relax. A few minutes later, I was back in the water. I found a ball in the “deep end” and swam over to give it to the girls. As I held out my hand with the ball they smiled. I tossed it towards them and turned to swim back to the other side of the pool. As I was turning I heard, “Tara.” They remembered my name 🙂
While my mom and I were getting ready to leave the pool, the eldest walked over to us and waved good-bye.
On our way back inside, my mom waited for me as I handed my business card to the lady who was still by the pool. She gave me her name and number and told me she would love for me to babysit her kids. YAY!
Toujours,
Tara